FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A pair of broad nostrils widened, huffing loudly. The beak that contained the nostrils opened wide, shearing off what little vegetation existed near the oasis.

The _Protoceratops_had wandered far from her herd on the outskirts of the desert, trying to find food so she could bear her mate worthy offspring. Last season was impossible, given the frequent sandstorms and flash floods. This year, with the winds abating and the storms lessening, she felt she stood a better chance...a few sparse cycads dotted the desolate landscape, and oases like the one she was near were perfect for her purpose.

She dipped her beak delicately into the water, tossing her frilled head back to swallow it. She did this several times, unaware of the predator lurking in the underbrush.

She has been separated from her herd...the fool, the _Velociraptor_thought as he waited, watching her movements carefully. He was silently evaluating her position, the angle of his attack. His beige and burnt umber plumes concealed his body from her sight, his amber eyes locked on her.

He held his breath. She suddenly paused her drinking, having heard the familiar distant warning rumble of an impending sandstorm.

The _Velociraptor_paid the winds no mind. He hadn't eaten in two weeks; his ribs were showing and he had lost his mate to a strange illness brought on by the oasis water. Hunting alone was difficult, and grieving over his mate made the process that much more challenging. A _Protoceratops_could sate his hunger for well over a month, if he calculated the kill correctly. He couldn't afford to lose the fight...he would surely lose his life.

The _Protoceratops_sniffed at the wind, her eyes wide. She had to finish foraging, otherwise she couldn't provide enough sustenance for herself and her brood.

She decided to continue to eat. The Velociraptor, relieved, lowered his body close to the ground. He tensed his legs, opened his jaw, and propelled himself from his hiding place. With his primaries keeping him slightly aloft and his tail acting as a balance, he lunged at the terrified Protoceratops, saliva spraying into the wind.

He was trying to aim for her throat or her exposed backside. She thrust her frilled head down instead, her vicious beak grasping his left wing. He let out a hideous scream of agony as she stumbled backward, his cracked ulna sending showers of blood into her nostrils. The Protoceratops, unable to breathe, backed away from the oasis, dragging the _Velociraptor_with her into the mud.

The Velociraptor_took his right wing and jammed its claws into the _Protoceratops' tough hide as she flung herself into the oasis mud. She writhed to free herself from the profusely bleeding wing, but the shrieks of the Velociraptor and the howling wind of the oncoming storm overwhelmed her.

The Protoceratops gasped her last breath, the blood from the raptor completely clogging her nostrils and the toxic fumes from the oasis mud suffocating her. The Velociraptor continued to struggle to free himself, his attempts weakening as his blood left his body.

The sandstorm howled over the ridge, its fury and force unequaled in recent months. The oasis was blanketed in sand and debris, the cycads destroyed instantaneously. The _Velociraptor_choked out his final breaths, buried by what he was certain was his saving grace.